SHARON English: Laid-off workers need more help

Extension of unemployment benefits and a federal subsidy on health-care costs for displaced workers are key elements.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR SHARON BUREAU
SHARON, Pa. -- U.S. Rep. Phil English of Erie, R-21st, says any economic stimulus package put together by Congress must include improved benefits for displaced workers.
"Working families in our area have known for months that the economy is in a recession and they badly need relief," the congressman said during at stop at the Mercer County CareerLink job center in Sharon on Monday.
English, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said he and 18 other Republicans have urged Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., to ensure that increased unemployment benefits, training for unemployed workers and increased health-care benefits are basic components of any package aimed at repairing the economy.
"Our message to the congressional leadership is that working Americans need a stronger safety net," English said.
A stimulus package has to get the economy back on a growth path but it must also soften the blow for those who have been hurt by the economic downturn, he said.
Locally: The latest unemployment figures for Mercer and Lawrence counties show that the jobless rates were 4.2 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively, in October.
However, economists have declared the country is in a recession and Erie alone lost 6 percent of its manufacturing jobs over the past year, English said. The U.S. Department of Labor said more than 7.7 million people are out of work across the country with 700,000 of them losing their jobs in October, he said.
What he wants: Employers should get incentives to invest and create jobs by getting an immediate tax write-off for investments that create employment, he said.
English said any stimulus package should also include:
U & raquo;An extension of unemployment benefits for an additional 13 weeks (It's a maximum of 26 weeks in Pennsylvania now).
U & raquo;A federal subsidy of 50 percent for Congressional Omnibus Benefit Reform Act (COBRA) health-care programs for displaced workers.
U & raquo;More money for job retraining.
U & raquo;Jump-starting federally funded infrastructure improvements such as highway, sewer and water projects to create new jobs.
"It needs to be done by Christmas if we're going to do it at all," he said, adding that he hopes President Bush will step forward to back the proposal.
"I think it's going to be a real challenge to get this through," English said, adding that it should be a bipartisan effort but that Democrats don't seem to be interested in creating any economic stimulus package.